


Manhunt (A Short Story)

by DavidBangs



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23680417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DavidBangs/pseuds/DavidBangs
Summary: After Detective Charles Boyle fails to show up to work that morning, fellow Detective Jake Peralta goes to investigate, only to find something that will shake him to his core. The events lead to a investigation that will change the life of himself and his squad forever.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Stake me out tonight, I won’t let you go till we catch the guy. Stake me out tonight, I won’t let you go till we catch the guy. Stake me out tonight, I won’t let you go till we catch the guy.” 

Charles’s ringtone echoed through the eerily silent apartment. Captain Holt must have been trying to contact him again, after failing to show up to work this morning without contact, the entire squad was on high alert. Detective Jake Peralta took a deep breath before carefully nudging the door open with the barrel of his gun and letting the beam from his torch light up the darkened hallway. Droplets of crimson blood mimicked a Hansel and Gretel trail leading Jake through the hallway in a manner that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Heart pounding in the back of his head and sweat dripping from the top of his brow he knew that he was walking head first into something terrible. Following the trail into the master bedroom Jakes stomach fell to the floor as his eyes discovered a sight he never wished to witness. Genevieve’s lifeless body lay the foot of the bed, throat slit, eyes gouged out and scalped. In all of his years on the force this has to have been the most gruesome murder he had ever laid his eyes upon. Accompanying the bloody scene was the vile stench of death filling his nostrils and clouding his mind. Shivering and fighting back a stream of tears he ran outside the apartment and was more violently sick then he had ever been in his entire life, knees shaking and mind racing he was barely being able to contain himself as he fell to his knees and wept. When Peralta was finally able to regain some composure he opened up his phone and blindly scrolled through his contacts, with trembling fingers and bated breath he struggled to maintain grip and dropped his phone onto the sidewalk. Balancing it on a mailbox he quickly dialled the only person he wanted to talk to.  
‘’A-A-Amy!’’Jake bawled.  
‘’Jake?’’ Amy asked, panicking at the tone of Jake’s voice.  
‘’It’s Genevieve, she’s dead!’’  
“Wait, what? What do you mean Genevieve’s dead? What are you talking about.’’ Demanded Amy.  
‘’I-I came over to look for Charles a-a-and the door was ajar so I went in. There was blood on the floor which lead me to the bedroom and Genevieve’s body is in there!’’ Jake screamed, unable to contain his emotion.  
‘’Hang on, I’ll be right there.’   
And with that Amy hung up the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Detective Peralta endlessly paced the sidewalk as he waited for Amy to turn up, no matter how hard he tried he could not shake the image of the apartment from his mind. The smell from deep within his nostrils and the fear from the pit of his chest. Checking his watch for what felt like every passing eternity he had never wanted time to pass so quickly. In a futile attempt to distract himself he began playing with the locket he wears around his neck, that locket had been a present from Amy for their first anniversary which contained a picture that had taken together on their honeymoon to Mexico. He blankly stared at the image within and for a brief moment he actually felt happy, but as soon as the feeling came it quickly passed and was replaced with fierce dread and the thought of anything bad happening to Charles Boyle, his partner, but more importantly his friend. The dangers of the job had never felt more real to him than they did in this moment. Even when he was on the run from Jimmy ‘The Butcher’ Figgis or staring down the barrel of Doug Judy’s gun, he was never truly afraid, but now with the prospect of the danger genuinely affecting somebody else he had a whole new perspective on his job. Before he could dwell on the thought any longer a deafening wailing consumed the street as numerous police cars came flying round the corner and coming skidding to a halt, quickly followed by a SWAT team, forensics van and a K-9 unit, the whole squad came out of the vehicles and ran over to join Jake outside the apartment.

‘’Dude what the fuck is going on?’’ Demanded Rosa, panic alive in her eyes. .  
The look on everyone’s faces did not help Jake's feeling of dread.  
‘’Just go inside and see for yourself.’’ Jake responded in a defeated voice.  
Following behind the rest of the squad Jake’s leg felt like jelly, fighting with him not to go back into Charles’s apartment. Feeling a squeeze round his hand he looked up to see Amy offering her support and together they took a deep breath and went inside. Peralta went into the living room as he waited for the squad to do their rounds of the bedroom before allowing CSI to take the scene. He could not bring himself to walk back into the bedroom and look at Genevieve’s body again. This room was untouched with violence, showing the happy life the Boyle family had once lived. Genevieve’s paintings still drying on the easel, Nikolajs toys spread around the floor, a cooking book left open with a bookmarked page. Cuttlefish stew with squid salad served with garlic aioli. Typical Charles. Making his way slowly into the hallway something caught his peripheral vision which made him double take, the door for the airing cupboard moved ever so slightly, his first thought was the wind had caught it but his instinct told him more. Heart racing he crept towards the door, right hand outstretched, hesitating with his hand hovering over the handle he swallowed the lump in his throat and mustered all of his courage.  
‘’HOLY SHIT!’’ He screamed in terror and pain.  
Nikolaj came hurtling out of the cupboard punching Jake in the stomach on his way through on his way to the living room. Jake ran in after to see him hide behind the sofa.  
“Guys get in here. It’s Nikolaj. He’s here!”  
‘’Hey Niko. It’s me, Jake. I’m not going to hurt you, I’m here to help.”  
After a few moments of tense silence Nikolaj’s hand appeared and slowly began raising himself up from behind the sofa, with red bloodshot eyes and violently shaking from head to toe, he sat himself down and began crying uncontrollably. Jake cautiously got up and started moving towards the sofa, his mind racing with confusion as to what to do next. He was unable to process his own emotions let alone deal with a child who no doubt witnessed the murder of foster mother. Wrapping his arm tenderly around Nikolaj’s shoulder they sat together in silence. The very same Jake Peralta who is always getting harassed for talking too much was lost for words. His best friend was missing, Genevieve was dead and Nikolaj was terrified, as Nikolaj finally began to calm himself down Jake's mind began to wonder and he started thinking about who would do this and why would this happen. Looking up he saw Amy in the doorway who beckoned him over.  
“Hey, Niko buddy I gotta go talk to Aunt Amy for a moment but I’ll get your Aunty Rosa to come in and sit with you okay?”  
Nikolaj simply nodded in response.  
Jake walked into the hallway and called for Rosa to get a glass of water and sit with Nikolaj before silently following Amy outside the apartment door and onto the street below where they were greeted by Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords. At first, no words were spoken between them but they all knew what that was all thinking the same thing. They all knew this would be their hardest case and that they were all scared for Charles and what could have happened to him. As the minutes passed they continued their long drawn silence each one growing ever more anxious to break it, until finally the silence was broken by a messaging arriving on Holt’s phone.   
“CSI are en route and will be here within the next 5 minutes, at which point we will hand over the scene to them and we shall arrange for Nikolaj to go into temporary care.”  
At this Jake suddenly felt the blood boiling uncontrollably within his veins, trying with all his might he attempted to contain himself from shouting at his Captain, to scream at the top of his lungs and release all of his ever growing pain, all the suffering he had been holding within his chest that morning, just as he thought he had reached breaking point he felt Amy's hand tightened around his and he managed to calm himself.  
"No Captain, Niko will stay with his Uncle Leo during the case, I think it best that he stays with people he knows." Even as he said it Jake could hear the plea within his own voice.  
“I knew it’s agaisn’t protocol but given everything he’s already been through in his life, he needs some consistency at a time like this.”   
"Okay.. I will contact child services and let them know of the current situation to make sure they approve before we make anything official. Before we do any of that we need to inform him of the current situation and see if he actually wants to care for Nikolaj."

"In the meantime Jeffords and I will head into the apartment to get to grips with the situation before CSI takes over, I suggest you take the rest of the day to yourself to clear your head before you come into this and risk making any rash decisions." Stated Holt.  
He could see the look of anger and confusing arriving on Jake's face before he interjected.  
“That’s an order Peralta, Charles is your best friend and you need some time to grieve before you lose your objectivity.”  
Before Jake could respond his Captain and Sergeant had turned away and proceeded into the apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

With trembling fingers Jake clumsily jammed his key into the ignition, started his car and rammed the stick into Drive. Without even checking his mirrors he pulled off into the road and began speeding down the street, Amy leaned over and flicked on the sirens in an attempt to add even the smallest semblance of safety to this journey. She had seen him drive recklessly before on a case but he had always been of stable mind when doing it. Only when he took a corner at 30 mph that she called out in desperation and fear, demanding that he pulled over and let her drive; this only angered him more and before he could stop himself he snapped, pulling over to the sidewalk he started shouting at her, louder and more aggressively than he had ever shouted at her before.   
"AMY YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, MY BEST FRIEND IS MISSING AND HIS WIFE HAS BEEN BRUTALLY MURDERED, I ONLY SAW HIM LESS THAN 10 HOURS AGO AND NOW HE IS MISSING AND IN GRAVE DANGER. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE SCARED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, MY CHEST IS HEAVY AND MY THROAT IS TIGHT, I CAN HARDLY BREATHE, AND IF ANYONE TELLS ME TO CALM DOWN OR THAT IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY I AM GOING TO REALLY LOSE MY TEMPER!”  
In an attempt to remain calm and sympathetic with her husband (admittedly this was proving much more difficult than she would have liked) she replied to him, through clenched teeth.  
"If you think for one minute that you are the only one suffering because of this Jake let me tell you that you are completely mistaken, the whole squad is devastated by this. I know he is your best friend but don't you dare start acting like you are the only person here who cares about him, he was the best man at our wedding, he’s been there for all the milestones of our relationship and he has been a wonderful friend to all of us throughout the years, he even risked his life to save Rosa’s. So all of us are going to do everything, and I mean everything in our power to make sure he comes home alive and well. I’m not going to try and convince you to calm down or tell you that it’s going to be alright because in all honesty I can’t guarantee that, but what I will say is that I will be right behind you every step of the way, supporting you and following your instinct because you are an amazing Detective and I trust your gut. All I ask is you do the same with me and to not use me as a punching bag to take out all of your anger and fear.”  
Amy’s loving words stung more than her anger ever could have, but with the pain came an embracing comfort which melted the anxiety from Jake’s clouded mind and he slowly leaned forward placing his head upon the steering wheel and he started crying, feeling Amy’s hand resting on his back he reached over and placed his head on her shoulder. After a while he stopped and blew his nose on his sleeve. Much to Amy’s disgust, Jake sensed this and in a mild attempt at humour begged her to let him have this one  
“Amy, can you drive?” Jake asked.  
“Of course honey.”

The remainder of the journey was made in silence as both Jake and Amy were trapped deep within their own thoughts, Jake absentmindedly looking out the window onto the streets of Brooklyn, while Amy, focusing on the road in front of her, was concerned for her husband and his ability to handle the case. The city outside was cold and wet on this November morning and filled with civilians carrying on with their daily duty as normal, without even the faintest idea what was going on. As he looked out upon the streets his mind filled with memories of Charles. The stationary shop they went to while planning Charles wedding to Vivian, the street Charles had arranged for Jake to meet Reginald VelJohnson and the restaurant Jake and Amy joined Charles and Genevieve on a double date the day after the Halloween heist in which Jake proposed. These sights made Jake's heart sink and wish harder than ever that he finds Charles safe and sound.

They were just beginning to approach the Police station's garage when Jake’s phone rang, startling the pair of them. Looking at his phone Jake saw that it was Rosa calling, getting out of the car and closing the door, he answered the phone.  
“Hey Rosa, what’s up?”  
“Hey man just wanted to let you know that we're finished with the crime scene and we’ve handed it over to CSI.”  
“Are you guys heading back to the precinct?” Jake asked.  
“Yeah, Leo just came for Nikolaj, he said he wants to talk to you later about the whole situation. He was in pretty bad shape when he got here. Also, we found what appears to be a ransom note under the sofa, must have been blown by the wind or something, we haven’t read it yet but we're going to bring it back with us now. See you soon.” Rosa explained  
“See you soon.” Jake replied.  
“The squad are coming back now with a ransom note they found. Let’s wait for them upstairs.” Jake said.  
With that Jake and Amy made their way to the elevator and into the break room.

Walking into the break room they were greeted by Hitchcock and Scully devouring their way through a Cheesecake for breakfast.  
“Hey guys, where have you been? Hitchcock and I came back from the bathroom to find everyone gone. What’s going on?”  
“Seriously you two are the worst detectives I have ever laid eyes upon. Do you two ever pay attention to anything?” Blurted Amy  
“Normally yes but I like to say we were busy.”  
At this Jake spoke up.  
“For God's sake, listen to me you two, Charles has been kidnapped and Genevieve has been murdered. The squad are on their way back now with the ransom note and I swear to the Lord himself if you two don’t step up to the plate on this one I will make the rest of your lives hell.”  
Before either of them could retort the elevator arrived on the second floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ding. The elevator doors slid open to reveal Rosa, Terry and Captain Holt. In unison they exited and made their way into the bullpen in silence. With bated breath Jake and Amy waited for one of them to start speaking but without speaking Rosa withdrew an evidence bag from her backpack and placed it on the table in front of them. They all stared down at the envelope in nervous anticipation before Captain Holt finally spoke up.   
“We believe the ransom note is inside this envelope. I thought you would want to be the one who opened it.”  
They looked down at the envelope in silence, each one of them too afraid to see the contents within. Jake finally picked it up and held it so it was visible to the group. With a deep breath Peralta carefully opened the envelope and slid the contents onto the desk. A photograph and an audio recorder. The photograph was taken inside Charles’s bedroom. Charles tied up and gagged on his knees next to Genevieve’s lifeless body. The image shook Jake to his core.Taking Amy’s hand he picked up the recorder and hit the play button. A voice rang out loudly through the quiet bullpen.

It is five years to the date that my mother was sentenced to life in prison at the hands of the 99th Precinct, for that you will never be forgiven. I hope the loss of a friend and the death of his wife will teach you all the true meaning of loss.

The voice echoing from the device had been masked by a distortion and pitched filter, each time the words seemed to sink into his mind less and less, their meaning never fully revealing itself. Without a word to the others he picked up his laptop and made his way back into the break room, making himself a very strong cup of coffee he sat down, his mind finally focusing on the case ahead. Placing the recorder down on the table next to him he put the audio on loop. Reaching over to get himself a pad and pen he didn’t even realize the rest of the squad standing in the doorway to the break room, anxiously awaiting Jake to speak. Right all he cared about was the ticking clock to find Charles before it was too late, but he couldn’t think like that. Not yet. For now finding out the identity of the criminal would be incredibly easy,whoever it was was either too stupid to realize how easy it would be to trace all convictions for that date or they were dangerously confident that they wouldn’t be caught. As he waited for his laptop to boot up he looked up to see that everybody had pulled up a seat round the table. A quick search of the Police database led him to a discovery that shook him to his core, thinking of all the killers, drug lords and mafia members he had arrested, the only one to be sentenced on this day five years prior was a name that he would never have suspected to be associated with this case. He turned his laptop around for everyone else to read and shocked gasps filled the room.

Melanie Hawkins

“Oh damn, that is one name I never hoped to see outside of the obituary section of a newspaper.”   
“You and me both Rosa.” Jake replied.   
“So what are we going to do?”Rosa asked.   
Thoughts were racing through Jake's mind at a breakneck speed and none of them gained traction, he could feel his pulse and temperature rise as anger filled every inch of his body. This bitch almost ruined his life and so one of her children is doing it again. This time, it’s really personal. Before Jake could dwell on the matter for too long Captain Holt spoke up.   
“Okay squad, here’s what’s going to happen. Pertalta, Diaz you will stay here and gain as much Intel on Melanie and her family tree while Sergeant Jeffords and Santiago will visit her in prison and see what they can find out, but don’t worry no matter what happens here we will not. And I repeat will not be offering her a reduction on her sentence. She is staying in prison for the rest of her life.” Holt explained.  
“Santiago, find a flight and get two tickets booked, Jeffords call ahead to the prison and inform them of your arrival. Peralta, Diaz come into my office.”  
  
Amy and Jeffords made their way over to her desk to begin planning their journey to visit Melanie Hawkins, after starting up her computer she logged into the Government's prisoner location service to discover what prison she was sent to.  
“After her sentencing she was incarcerated in the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Sergeant if you want to inform the prison I’ll book the earliest flight.”   
Before Terry left he pulled Amy to the side out of range to be overheard.  
“How you holding up Santiago?”   
“Not too bad Sarg, I mean obviously it’s difficult because this case is so personal but I think I’m just trying to hold it together for Jake more than anything else. He cried in the car on the way here but honestly I don’t know how well he’s going to be able to hold it together and I’m worried for him.”   
“Yeah it’s tough, but we want to have any chance of bringing Charles back alive. This next 48 hours is the most crucial so we have to try and stay objective and strong. I’m going to call my wife and get ready to leave. Rendezvous is 20 minutes.”   
Glancing across to the window of Holt’s office Amy saw that Holt had closed the blinds in his office for a private discussion with Jake and Rosa. After a moment of thought she directed her gaze back to her screen and began searching for a flight. Once inside the office Holt locked the door and closed the blind, ushering his two detectives to take a seat upon his couch.  
“Now this situation at hand is very difficult for the squad, the precinct and the NYPD as a whole, so this has be dealt with quickly, efficiently and professionally to ensure we bring Charles home safe and sound. Now all of that aside I understand that seeing that name must have been incredibly difficult for the pair of you and if you feel that you are unable to proceed with the case I, as well as the squad would understand whole-heatedly and support that decision. So if you have anything you would like to say on that matter please, speak now.”   
An uncomfortable silence cloaked the room for a moment while they contemplated what their captain had just said to them. After a few minutes Jake and Rosa looked at each other with a mutual understanding and Rosa said.  
Captain we want nothing more than to bring Charles home and get justice for Genivieve so we will work the case."   
Jake nodded in agreement.   
“Charles is my best friend and I know you may think my objectivity might be affected by this but I can promise you now captain that I will work this as a professional and bring Charles home.”   
Looking down at the detective that once refused to wear a tie or take any orders seriously, the admiration for the man Jake had become only increased in this moment. Cracking a smile Holt nodded. Leaving the office the pair went to their desks to begin their tasks.

Looking around Jake couldn’t see Amy so messaged her for a chat before she left.   
_Ames, meet me on the roof. Xx_

Shivering as she stepped out onto the frosted roof Amy looked up to see Jake leaned up against the far wall deep in thought. Staring across at her husband Amy was flushed with a variety of emotions; love for the man before her, fear for the safety of one of her closest friends, gratitude for the people in her life and immense pressure from the ever decreasing time frame ahead of her. Breaking from his thought Jake looked up and smiled.   
“Hey did you get your flight booked?” He asked.  
“Yes, 12:05 flight from JFK to Worcester Regional Airport. We should be at the prison by 1:30 if all goes to plan.”   
Averting his gaze to his feet Jake tentatively thanked Amy for being there for him in the car. Taking hold of his arm Amy looked into his eyes and said.  
“Jake you are my husband and I will always be there for you.”  
Before he could respond Terry opened the door to the roof.  
“Guys sorry to interrupt but it’s time for us to go.”  
“Okay Sarg, be there in a minute.”   
Holding Amy’s hand in his Jake looked deeply into her eyes, kissed her and wished her luck. Without another word she turned away and left for JFK airport.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Horrifying images raced through Charles’s mind as he slowly began regaining consciousness; a knock on the apartment door. Who could be knocking at this hour? A knife at Genevieve’s throat, blood on the floor then blackness. Blindfolded. Incoherent muttering. *THUD*. A blow to the head was the last thing he remembered. A jarring jolt brought him to his surroundings, trying to move but his hands and feet were bound. Panic ensued and his mind was muddled, a burning throb was resonating from the top of Charles’s head from the final blow that knocked him out. Judging by the sounds and the bumpiness of the movement he would guess he’s in the trunk of a car. Heart pounding and body trembling with no time to dwell on what happened in his apartment Charles feared what was going to happen next. A sudden stop slammed Charles into the side of the trunk and knocked the wind out of him. A car door slammed and muffled footsteps edged closer until he heard the truck open and a pair of hands grab him by the shoulders and force him up into a seated position. POW. A hard blow across his face sent him flying sideways, this time when the hands pulled him up he was grabbed by the waist and picked up. Torn between attempting an escape or biding his time he came to conclusions that even if he broke free from his captors grasp he was still blindfolded and taped up. He wouldn’t get very far. Ding. He must be getting into an elevator. Thrown violently to the floor he could hear the man panting deeply. After what felt like an eternity a female voice rose from the silence announcing their arrival on the 21st floor. After being violently dragged from the elevator he was forced onto a chair and his hands tied behind.  
“Ouch!” Charles yelled in pain as the duct tape was ripped from his mouth.   
Taking deep breaths all he could hear was scraping and clunking over the muffled sounds of conversation and cars from the street below until a voice spoke.  
“Yes I got him here alive. There was a casualty. No, I couldn’t find his son, I don’t think he was in the apartment.”  
Relief filled his body from head to toe, Nikolaj was in the apartment, he must have hidden himself really well.  
“Look it doesn’t matter if I didn’t get the boy, he didn’t see me and has no idea what’s going on. Don’t worry he won’t be a problem. But we have to act fast before anything can go wrong.”

Dots flashed in Charles’s eyes as the blindfolded was taken off and light overwhelmed his vision, in an attempt to take in as many visual clues as possible he was disappointed to discover that the room was empty, nothing but a camcorder on an erected tripod stood before him, illuminated by nothing but a single light hanging menacingly above it. Out from behind him a figure approached the camera, while setting it up he looked up at Charles and spat at his feet through the mouth hole of his ski - mask.  
“Get ready to put on a show, pig.”  
The level of hatred and disgust in the man's voice made the hair on his neck stand on end. Standing behind the tripod the man lifted up a piece of card with barely legible handwriting sprawled across it.  
“Start reading pig.” He spat.  
Looking at the words Charles swallowed hard and began to read the script.  
“Hello nine-nine, I speak to you now from an undisclosed location in what will be the last time you ever see me, for this is the punishment I must receive for the pain and suffering I caused and all the family’s my work has torn apart. The rest of you are complicit in my actions so what is to be bestowed upon me shall in turn come to you as well.”  
With the uttering of his final word a bullet flew into each Charles’s kneecaps, blood poured down his legs as he cried in pain.  
“Perfect”   
With that the man turned off the camera and took out the tape. Walking over to the table he sat down and placed the tape into an envelope. Walking back over to Charles he put the tape and blindfold back on, plunging Charles back into a terrifying darkness. The door to the apartment slammed shut and Charles let his head fall, tears building up inside the blindfold with nowhere to go as he cried more than he had ever cried in his life. Cried for Genevieve, he cried for Nikolaj and he cried for the excruciating pain radiating from his knees. After what felt like hours he could finally cry no more, tired, hungry and thirsty he was on the verge of passing out, with no indication whatsoever of where he could possibly be, who his captor is or why any of this is happening he hoped that Jake knew more than him. With that thought he allowed himself to slip back out of consciousness bearing the hope that he may wake up in a better situation then he was in now. 


End file.
